Every story starts with something simple.
A blank page. A single idea. A handful of ingredients.
Lately, I’ve been spending a few minutes of every day feeding my sourdough starter, which I’ve jokingly named Steve, and learning the art of baking sourdough boules. Like writing, sourdough requires patience. You can’t rush the process. You feed it, tend it, trust it, and hope the work you’ve invested rises into something worth sharing.
Truthfully, my interest in cooking comes naturally.
My mother, Stacy, has spent decades preserving recipes, sharing healthy cooking advice, and helping others gather around the table. She writes the “It’s Stacy – Healthy Eats” column for The Morgan Messenger and has authored two cookbooks, It’s Stacy’s Grandma ‘Zona’s Recipes and West Virginia: It’s Stacy’s Great Grandma Zona’s Wisdom & Recipes. Her culinary work has been recognized by multiple West Virginia governors over the years.
Growing up around family recipes taught me something I didn’t fully appreciate until I became a writer: stories are preserved in more than books. They’re tucked into recipe cards, passed around kitchen tables, scribbled into cookbooks, and carried from one generation to the next.
Maybe that’s why I enjoy both writing and cooking.
Both are acts of creation. Both are ways of preserving something that matters. And both are meant to be shared.
For now, Steve is alive and well, the bread is edible, and the writing continues. I hope you’ll join me at the table from time to time.
Robert Lee Dugan III
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